Tag Archives: cats

I CAN HAS SPARKLEE HOOMAN?

1971 magazine ad for Réplique perfume by Raphael Paris
1971 magazine ad for Réplique perfume by Raphael Paris

Pronounced RAY-PLEEK.
Réplique was introduced in 1944.
The original scent was discontinued in the late 1980s.

Via Cleopatra’s Boudoir
“The story is almost too good to be true, but it is an acknowledged fact: The main “nose” of parfumeur Worth in Grasse had just created “Requête” in 1944 when he had a violent argument with one of the directors and left them in the worst possible terms. He was immediately hired by Raphael and created “Réplique”, the reply to a “Requête” in French legalese. It was rumoured that Worth did not enjoy the joke.”

Continue reading

It’s got a cat on it.

Cover for The Countryside Magazine and Suburban Life, April 1917 - art by Paul Bransom
Cover for The Countryside Magazine and Suburban Life, April 1917 – art by Paul Bransom

Along with ads of yore, I also love a good magazine cover.

From my collection, here’s The Countryside Magazine and Suburban Life’s cover for April 1917 (Spring Planting Number) with art by Paul Bransom.

The New York Times has a rather fine obituary/biography of the “Dean of American Animal Artists” here.

most provocative

1969 magazine ad for Lanvin’s My Sin perfume
1969 magazine ad for Lanvin’s My Sin perfume

Bone shards:

“What the hell am I smelling and why is it so wonderful? …Whatever the notes are, they’ve converged to create a sexual flower, one that is at its peak of fragrance, like a meadow in full bloom on the hottest spring day, visited by the horniest, healthiest bees.” — from a My Sin review

Lanvin’s My Sin was formulated by a mysterious Russian perfumer named Madame Zed.

What is dusting powder (one of the variations listed at the bottom of the ad)?

Black cats are awesome. You should adopt one from a shelter.

Continue reading

It’s the cat’s meow.

Calvert whiskey ad by Tom Lovell
From 1947. Some magazines from my collection are in more of a “rustic” condition than others. 

The artist, Tom Lovell, had quite a career doing pulp magazine covers and paintings of the American West. And Siamese cats in whiskey ads.

Continue reading

Another Portent from the Past, with Kitties!

What You Going to Do When the Rent comes Due?
Postcard spotted at an auction in Mandan, North Dakota in 2019

Before and after I check my bank balance.

Whisper the Wonder Puss

Chicks dig it.

Found in a 1903 issue of Life magazine.

Odds and ends:

A portière (mentioned at the bottom of the ad) is a hanging curtain placed over a door or doorway. I am not sure if a beaded curtain officially qualifies as a portière, but why not, eh?

Online, I found a couple of variations of the Lewando’s mother cat delicately and lovingly hanging the chicks up to dry, and when in color, each of the clothespinned chicks is a different color. Probably because of their dyeing services, but maybe just because it’s cute. Dye hard.

“Cleansing” sounds much more elegant and thorough than “cleaning”. You can probably charge more for it.

Sometimes Lewando’s has an apostrophe, and sometimes Lewandos doesn’t have an apostrophe. Lewando does what Lewando wants.

Continue reading

Wisdom

Whisper admonished me for failing to reach a zen state because I stress about things I should no longer care about.

“If you give somebody a perfectly grilled steak and they take it and slather shampoo and gravel all over it and then complain that it isn’t any good, that’s on them, not you. Meow.”

Whisper is wise.

Inceptional!

Whisper the Wonder Puss achieves the legendary Cat in a Box in a Box in a Box in a Box position.

So many boxes, so little time.

Toitoitoi

Time to learn a little German — a German cat food (I hope) magazine ad from the 60s.

Toitoitoi — You’re going to like this word.